4 Tips for Saving BIG at Target: Holiday Clearance

All of this for only $15.44!

I made a recent trip to my local Target recently as rumor has it their Halloween clearance was 90% off.  I have the best luck for holiday clearance here and love most of their Halloween and Christmas décor and clothing.  My latest trip was another success as I saved over $140.00 off retail – wowzers!!  Below I share 4 tips for saving in the Target Holiday Clearance section.

1.    Know When To Go – Wait until about a week after the holiday to shop.  Heading to the store the after a major holiday doesn’t mean the deepest discounts.  You may only save 30 – 50% off retail.  For me, I just can’t rationalize buying anything at that discount.  Their sales before the holiday can usually be the same as 50% clearance.  Unless you are really loving an item and don’t want to miss out, wait until the right time to go.  For example, I went to Target on November 7^th at 8 am when they opened to shop.  Had I gone sooner, the items wouldn’t be 90% off.  Had I waited until the weekend, it would probably all have been gone.  Timing is really, really important.

2.    Focus On Items That Don’t Scream “HOLIDAY” – When purchasing baby clothes or items to sell on eBay or the such, focus on items that could be used all season.  I often try to find baby costumes or outfits that could be totally passed off as cute regular outfits.  A plain orange Halloween onesie could be transformed into an adorable baby gift with iron-on transfers or a Frankenstein 2-piece outfit could be worn as an everyday ensemble.  This Koala Costume I bought is a prime example of how to buy neutral.  It was originally priced at $12.99 – I bought it for $1.29 (actually I bought 5 of them – come on that’s a steal!)

3.    Don’t Buy Online – The prices are so much more online than in the store.  The cute koala outfit above is $11.04 on Target.com and I paid $1.29 for it.  That is a $9.75 difference.  For the most part, I have had no luck finding deep discounts online.  Stick to your local Target stores for the best deals.

4.    Be On The Lookout For Unticketed Items – Finding unmarked clearance items is my BEST TIP for scoring great deals on holiday items at Target.  With the changeover from Halloween to Christmas, my local Target had a ton of cute Halloween baby clothes unmarked.  Because customers don’t notice the red clearance stickers, there was still a great selection left for me to choose from.  Here are some signs to look for: 

a.    Similar items near it are on clearance

b.    Look for a Halloween or Christmas symbol on the price tag (my Halloween outfits all had a pumpkin on them)

c.    Always check the price at one of the price scanners in the department

Here’s a breakdown of my haul:

Mummy Loves Me Onesie	1 x .49
Baby Boy’s My First Halloween 2-piece Outfit	2 x .99
Circo 2-Piece Dinosaur Outfit	1 x 1.29
Frankenstein 2-piece Sleep ‘n Play	1 x .99
Kid’s Werewolf 2-piece costume (mask & shirt)	1 x 2.50
Baby Girl’s My First Halloween  2-piece Outfit	2 x .99
Circo 2-piece Koala Outfit	5 x 1.29
Halloween Acrylic Drinkware Glasses	5 x .17
TOTAL	15.44

Finding the best deals on holiday clearance at Target really isn’t rocket science.  Knowing when to go and what to look for is the key to a successful trip.  What's the best holiday clearance deals you have found?  I would love to hear - leave a comment below!